Surveying the history of gay rights activists.

Before Stonewall: Activist for Gay and Lesbian Rights in Historical Context. Edited by Vern L. Bullough. New York: Harrington Park Press, 2002, 454 pages. Paper, $27.95.

Reviewed by David McWhirter, M.D., P.O. Box 1622, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270-1057: e-mail: dpmcwhirter @mindspring.com.

Once again, Bullough has brought to readers historical word photos. This time we are treated to 49 biographical vignettes, by and about both men and women. The authors of these biographies were partners, friends, and colleagues of the featured activists, and most of the authors knew the featured activist very well. These activitists helped pave the way for Stonewall and the emergence of the gay-lesbian community as we know it today. They laid much of the groundwork in bringing this diverse community into mainstream American society.

Some of the activists included in the book are well known, much having been written about them. For example, C. A. Tripp writes about Alfred Kinsey's incredible scientific contributions, an entry that opens Part 1 of the book titled "Pre-1950." The eight people featured here, four of whom are women, truly were pioneers. Bullough himself writes the brief vignette of his personal history with Berry Berryman, a tough Mormon lesbian pioneer who lived in Utah. Berry was partnered with Ruth Ucherman and Ruth was Vern Bullough's mother-in-law, the mother of Bonnie Bullough, Vern's late wife and dear collaborator. Vern gives Ruth credit for encouraging and supporting his own research into gays and lesbians "and early introducing me into the life and culture of the gay community" (p. 67).

Part 2 of the book is titled "Organizational Activists" and includes entries on 18 such activists. Many of these individuals lived on the West Coast of the U.S. and Bullough almost apologizes for including the Jives of so many West Coast pioneers. However, as is true for many of the activists featured throughout the book, most of the West Coast activists have been friends or acquaintances of Vern and Bonnie Bullough. Vern was so well acquainted with most of the early founders of gay and lesbian organizations like the Mattachine Society, the Daughters of Bilitis, and One that it was natural for him to include who he did. Ultimately, Bullough himself was also included courtesy of his long-time friend and founder and editor of The Journal of Homosexuality, John P. DeCecco.

Two of the women featured in Part 2 of the book, Phyllis Lyons and Del Martin, have been life partners for 52 years, and each touchingly writes about the other in this volume. These two were founders of the Daughters of Bilitis in San Francisco, and they continue to contribute significantly to gay and lesbian rights initiatives. In February 2004, when the mayor of San Francisco allowed same-sex couples to obtain a marriage license, Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin were the first to be licensed and married and appeared on the front page of many newspapers throughout the U.S. and abroad.

Part 3 is titled "Movers and Sharers on the National Scene." Here, nine individuals are featured, seven of whom are still living. The exceptions include Lige Clark, who was mysteriously machine-gunned down at a roadblock outside Monterey, Mexico, in 1975. He and his lover, Jack Nichols, who writes about Clark, founded GAY, the first weekly newspaper of its kind, in 1969. The other individual featured in this section who is no longer living is Robert A. Martin, the founder of the first gay student organization (The Student Homophile League). He died of AIDS just a week short of his 50th birthday.

Part 4, titled "Other Voices and Their Influence," includes 14 vignettes about individuals who made very important contributions to gay rights in the years before Stonewall although many of them were not gay or lesbian. Our beloved Morris Kight, the last entry in the book, has died since being written about in this historical work.

Vern Bullough has done it again: He has edited a book that adds immensely to the richness and history of the gay and lesbian movement as well as to the ongoing evolution of human rights. Bullough contributes greatly to our knowledge and understanding of this important movement and its history. In reading this book, I was amazed at the number of featured activists whom my partner of over 30 years and I have known personally for many years. We have our own memories and stories to tell about each of them. However, even if you have not known any of the featured individuals personally, this collection of brief biographies will be informative and an enjoyable read. I highly recommend it.